Reformed gangster covered in tattoos warns kids about doing drugs

A rehabilitated addict covered head-to-toe in colourful tattoos has turned his life around by educating children about the perils of drug abuse.

Reformed gangster John Kenney, from Melbourne, Australia, has been addicted to tattoos since the age of 18.

The 60-year-old, who has tattoos all over his body, including his eyelids, eyeballs, inside his nose and on his tongue, admits he regrets “half of his life”.

John Kenney poses at his home Credit:
Getty Images for Daily Mail Australia

He told Daily Mail Australia he left a violent home at the age of seven and was raped by four men while living on the streets aged ten. He would later contract Hepatitis C from a dirty needle as a teenager.

The colourful character even hacked a finger off with a meat cleaver during a part-time job to claim compensation money so he could buy LSD and speed in the 1970s.

Kenney, who fell into a life of crime as a drug mule and pimp, says he tattooed his face to give himself “an identity”.

The 60-year-old has tattoos all over his body, including his eyelids and eyeballsCredit:
Getty Images for Daily Mail Australia

“I have them on every part of my body, my psychologist thinks it is self-loathing but I just love it, have them up my nose, my tongue, eyeballs, maybe I've gone a bit too far, it is starting to look like I am inflicting pain on purpose,” he explains.

After homelessness, drug addiction and suicide attempts, Kenney now speaks to school children about the perils of drug abuse and tattoos and is an advocate for the homeless.

“I regret half of my life, from the day I was born until I straightened myself ... I think about the victims I left behind I feel sorry for, especially the house break ins,” he added.